Type-writing machine.



PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907.

E. G. LATTA. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATIOI TILED BEP'LT'. 1904.

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No: 847,990. PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907. E. G. LATTA.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27. 1904.

a H. .4. a 777 j alien/ 11a- D NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMMIT G. LATTA, OF FRIENDSHIP, YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HARVEY A. MOYER, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Original application filed July 5. 1904, Serial No. 215,246. Divided and this application filed September 27,1904- Serial No. 226,187-

fo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMMIT G. Laws, a citizen of the United States, residing at Friendship, in the county of Allegany and State of '.\ew York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin T ype-Vlriting Machines, of which the following is a specificallOn.

This invention relates to auxiliary carriage releasing and stop or feed mechanisms for type-writing machines of that kind in which the latch-carriage is moved horizontally by a living-spring orpower device and is controlled by a regular feed mechanism which operates upon the actuation of the type-bar keys and space-key to effect an intermittent or step-by-step movement of the carriage to produce the letter-spacing. The auxiliary carriagestop mechanism hereinafter described is especially applicable to front strike type-writing machines of the character disclosed in my ap lication for United States Letters Patent tilted July 5, 1904, Serial No. 215,246, in which the horizontallyruovable carriage is mounted and moves on a vertical movable shift-frame; but the auxiliary stop mechanism is applicable to other forms of type-writing machines.

This application is a division of my application above identified.

The objectof the invention is to provide an efficient desirable auxiliary carriage releasing and st op or feed mechanism for typewriting machines of simple and inexpensive construction, whereby the carriage can be readily released from its regular feed, allowed to move to and be arrested at different de sired positions in its horizontal travel for the purpose of paragraphing and producing column and tabulated matter.

A further object of the invention is to improve the auxiliary carriage releasing and stop mechanisms for tvpe-writing machines in the different articulars hereinafter pointed out, and set orth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of a type-writing machine provided with an auxiliary carriagestop mechanism embody the invention;

i i r of. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partlv in horizontal section, thereof, the platen being omitted and parts being broken away to expose the under parts of the machine. Fig. 4 is a front elevation thereof without the platen. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation thereof in line 5 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a plan view of an auxiliary stop-bar of different construction detached. Fig. 7 is an elevation of one of the interchangeable auxiliary stop-strips, showing a different arrangement of the stop projections. Fig. 8 is a detail rear elevation of the carriage-escapementwheel and associated parts. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale, showing the auxiliary snip-bar and adjacent parts.

ike letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents a portion of the stationary or main frame, which may be of any suitable construction, and B the carriage supporting and frame described in my said application. This shift-framein the construction illustrated is of rectangular form, consist' of frontand rear cross-bars b 6', connect by end and intermediate longitudinal bars b b, respectively, and is pivoted at its rear portion to swing vertically on bearingtrunnions c, which are adjustably mounted on the rear portion of the sides of the main frame and enter sockets in the ends of the shift-frame. The latter is normallv held up in the position shown in Fig. 1, as by a suitable s ring D, secured to the back of the main ame, with its free front end bea against the under side of the shift-frame, an is swung downwardly against the lifting action of said s ring to shift the carriage by mechanism fully explained in my said application.

E represents the usual platen journaled to rotate on a carriage F, which preferabl consists of end bars or piecesf, connecte by a front cross-rod f and a rear cross-bar or bearin -bar f The carriage is mounted to travel llorizontally transversely of the machine, preferably on the front and rear sets of bearing-balls g i, respectively, intcrposed between the rear caring-bar j of the carriage and a transverse bearing-bar G, fixed Fig. 2 is afragmen'tary en elevation therei on the front part of the shift-frame. The

carriage extends forwardly from the shiftframe. The ball-bearing for the-carriage is The 5 carriage may be mounted to travel on the fully described in my said application.

shift-frame in any other suitable manner,

and it will be understood that the invention to be hereinafter described is also applicable 3 to machines in which the shift-frame is omitted and the carriage travels directly on the j stationary mam frame.

The regular feed or step-by-step movement of the carriage to produce ordinary letter-spacing is effected by an escapement mechanism, a portion only of which is shown 7 in Figs. 1, 3, 8, and 9.

X represents a toothed rack, which is se- 1 cured to the under side of the bearing-barf of the carriage between the two rows of beari ing-balls by the screw n, which fasten the bearing-bar to the end pieces of the carriage I O is an escapement-shaft, which is journaled at its or in any other suitable manner.

ends in the front and rear cross-bars of the shift-frame and is arranged longitudinally of -'said frame beneath the intermediate bar thereof, which is preferably concaved. The I shaftis provided near its front end with a gear-pinion p, which projects through a slot in the bearing-bar G of the shift-frame and meshes with the toothed rack X, and is pro- 1 vided at its rear end with an escapementwheel 1), which is controlled by an escapement mechanism (not shown) to effect the ste by-ste movement of the carriage. It

- be un erstood that, as usual, the carriage is connected to a driving-spring or;

other power device, which tends to move the carriage to the left, and that the escapement mechanism is operated through the medium of the well-known universal bar whenever the type-bars or space-key are actuated.

p is a dog pivot-ed on the rear of the main frame and engaging the teeth of the escapement-wheel to hold the latter from rotation.

The center of the escapement-wheel and the point at which the dog engages the teeth of the wheel are located in the pivotal axis of the shift-frame, so that the movement of the wheel on the holding-dog in the carriage is so small that it is not an objection and does not interfere with the easy proper action of the escapement in either position of the carriage. A similar result can be secured by pivotin the holdingdog on the shift-frame, with the joint connecting it with the universal bar also located in the pivotal axis of the shift-frame.

Q represents a carriage-release bar, which is arranged in rear of the platen adjacent to and parallel with the front bar of the shiftframe. The releasebar is connected at opposite ends by upturned portions to arms g on the rear ends of shafts q, journaled in the end bars of the carriage and provided at their 1 front ends with line-space levers q". The arrangement and operation of the line-space levers and connecting carriage-release bar are fully described in my application for 5 United States Letters Patent, Serial .\'o.

208,011, filed May H, 1904. i

R, Fig. 3. is a rock-shattjotll'lltlitil in suitable bearings on the shift-frame parallel with the escapement-shaft and provided at its front end with a crank-arm having a stud r situated over the carriage-release bar and at its rear end with a crank-arm having a stud f r, which engages the holding dog p for the escapement-wvheel. The rock-shaft R is held with its rear stud out of contact with the holding-dog p and against a suitable stop 1" by a spring 1*, coiled about the shaftand connected thereto and to the shift-frame. The sto r shown consists of a slotted plate adjustal ily secured on the rear of the shiftframe by a screw. By adjusting the stop the release-shaftcan be arrested with its studs in osition to work to the best advantage.

l Vhen either line-space lever is rocked to turn the platen and feed the paper. the releasebar is lifted and engaging the front stud of the release-shaft R oscillates the latter, so as to move the holding-dog p out of engagement with the escapement-wheel free movement of the carriage.

The auxiliary feed or stop mechanism for set-ting the carriage to different predetermined positions for paragraphing and producingcolumn-work is constructed as follows:

S represents a feed-bar arranged adjacent to and parallel with the carriage-release bar :in rear of the platen and carried by forwardly-pro'ecting arms 8 at its ends, which I are remova ly hung to oscillate vertically on the front cross-rod f of the carriage by hooks s or otherwise. Both arms preferably project forwardly from the carriage and are connected to a finger-bar s. which is par allel with the carriage and located just above the rear portion of the keyboard. The arms .9 of the feed-bar are preferably curved, shown in Fig. 1, and bowed outwardly. as shown in Fig. 3, to avoid interference with the type-bars when the carriage is at either end of its run. The feed-bar is normally held down in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1 beneath and out of engagement with the front stud of the release-shaft It by a suitable spring 5', Fig. 2. secured to the carriage and bearing against one arm of the feed-bar. The latter is provided with a 5 number of upwardly-extending stop pro- 5 jections t to cooperate with a fixed stop T g on the shift-frame to arrestthe carriage in 5 different positions, determined by the loca- 1 tion of the stop projections t and live-cl stop 5 T. The stop projections t are preferably lformed on a hardened-steel stop-strip t,

which is removably seated in a groove in the feed-bar, in which it is held from transverse movement by the engagement of pins t, Figs. 4 and 9, in a longitudinal groove t" in the stopstrip. The stop-strip is slipped endwise into the groove in the feed-bar and is held from endwise movement therein when the feed-bar is in normal position by the engagement of its ends with the end bars of the carriage.

The operation of the auxiliary feed mech anism is as follows: By partially depresing the finger-bars s the stops t on the feed-bar are raised into line with the fixed stop T, and by further depressing the fingfr-bar the rear e e of the feed-bar e ages t e front stud of the release-shaft R an rocks the same to re lease the carriage. as before explained. The carriage is then free to move to the left until arrested by the engagement of one of the stop projections t with the fixed stop T. Upon releasing the finger-bar the feed-bar S permits the release-shaft to rock far enough to allow the holding-dog p to swing into position to interce t the escapemcnt-wheel before the stop on t e feed-bar is free from the fixed stop T, and upon the complete return of the feed-bar the carriage is again controlled by the regular step-by-step escapement. The stop projections are situated at ten letterspace intervals on the stop-strip or at other desired intervals such as to arrestthe carriage at the desired points, and the first stop projection is preferably so located as to stop the carriage in correct position for starting a paragraph. Interchangeable stop-strips provided with difi'erently-spaced stop pro ections are provided, so that by placing the proper stri on the feed-bar the carriage can be stop at various desired points, thus reatly facilitating the product ion of different hinds of column or tabulated work. A stopstrip t, with a difl'erent arrangement of stop pro ections is shown in Fi 7. The fixed stop T is also preferably adjustable on the shift-frame, for which purpose in the construction shown itconsists of a block having teeth on its rear face, which are held in engagenzent with cooperating teeth 11- on the front bar of the shift-frame by a holdingscrew or other releasible securing device -u. (See Fig. 3 By adjusting the fixed stop T along the shift-frame the paragraphing-stop may be caused to act at any desired point near the left end of the line, and a similar adjustment may be used to vary the relative points in the line at which the carriage is arrested by the column-stops. Thus in col-omnwork, while with the same stop-strip the columns would always be the same distance apart their relative location on the sheet could be changed at will. The finger-bar is in a .most favorable position to be reached. and it a the fixed stop T on the shiftrame.

can be operated by downward pressure on any part of its length; but as itmoves laterally with the carriage the operating pressure will ordinarily be applied to that part which happens to be opposite the central part of the keyboard. An importantadvantage of this construction is that the operator's finger fol lows the movement of the finger-bar with the carriage and acts as a brake to prevent to agreat extent the shocks, strains, and wear which would be caused by the abrupt stopping of the carriage after movinga long distance.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of feed-bar S for the auxiliary feed mechanism in which the finger-bar is omitted, and one of its arms terminates in an operating-lever S. This bar is interchangeable with the feed-bar S, before described. It is lighter and less expensive, but lacks the advantages of the fin ger-bar. By first removing the platen from the carriage the feed-bar in either form can be readily unhooked and lifted off of the car riage, leaving in place as the only parts of the auxiliary stop mechanism the s ring 8 and The auxiliary feed device requires but little force to operate it and can be operated without shifting the carriage, if desired; but by the application of more force to the feed-bar itserves the double function of shifting the carriage and at the same time moving the carriage an irregular distance to a desired position. This is an advantage in paragraphing, as a capital letter or upper-case character is usually required to start the paragraph, and this double function of the feed-bar saves one motion. When the carriage is locked in shifted position for the use of upper-case characters only, the operation of the auxiliahll y' feed device has no effect on the carriage S t.

In machines in which the carriage is mounted directly on the stationary main frame the parts which are above described as mounted on the shift-frame will of course be mounted on suitable parts of the stationary main frame. This will be manifest if the shift-frame be considered as a fixed part of the main frame instead of as a separate pivoted frame.

I claim as my invention- 1- In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen-carriage, a supportin frame therefor, and a step by-step feed, of an auxiliary feed comprising a relatively fixed stop, and a combined releasing and stop bar mounted on the carriage in rear of the platen and between the platen and the earriage-supporting frame and movable to release the step-by-step feed and place a stop thereon in position to engage said fixed stopto arrest the carriage, the movable bar having a riga fl gn idly-connected forwardlyrojeeting lever by which it is actuated, su stantial y as set forth.

I 2. In a front-strike type-writing machine,

- the combination with a carriage, and a stepby-step feed, of an auxiliary feed mechanism comprising a relatively fixed stop, and a device supported by and movable with the carriage and ha a horizontal bar which is movablevertica y to place a stop thereon in position to engage said relatively fixed stop, and an operating finger-bar connected to said stop-bar and located in front of the carriage. and arallel with the platen in position to allow the type-bars to swing between it .'and the platen, said "er-bar being of such length that some part t ereof will be at the central portion of the machine in all positions of the carriage, substantially as set forth.

3. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage, and a regular step-bystep feedhggd an auxiliailfly feed device comnsz' 'ng a stop on t e carriage-supportiiig frame, a bar pivoted on the carriage, a detachable stop-stri having1 a series of stops supported by said ar, an a lever rigidly connected to said bar for the bar to lace the stops on the bar in line with the fart? stop on the frame, substantially as set f 4. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage, and a regular step-bystep feed, of an auxiliary feed comprising a 35 fixed stop and a rigid rectangular frame pivotally connected to the carriage and having a rearbarsuppo aseriesofstops, anda front bar located forwardly of the carriage to serve as a finger-lever to actuate the frame, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine, the combination with a carriage, and a regularstep-bystep feed, of an auxiliary feed comprising a fixed stop and a rigid rectangular frame having ends centrally) pivoted to the ends of the carriage, a rear ar sup rting a series of stops, and a front bar loc zit edl in front of the --an o a ever to actuate We, subs fil trnfi'i ia forth.

6- In a type-writing machine, the combinationwith a carriage, and a regular step-byof an auxiliarv feed-device com- I pnsmga fixed stop, a movable bar on the c having a longitudinal roove a strip 5 with stops detachab y retained in said ve, and means to prevent lateral displamment of the stop-strip, substantially a set forth.

with a regular step-by-st ep feed, of an feed device comprising a fixed stop, a r bar-pivoted to the carriage, and

a detachable stop-strip su ported tween in a type-writing machine, the combi-,

parts at the ends of the carriage so that the stop-strip is held against endwise movement on the bar by the carriage when in operative position, substantially as set forth.

8. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage, and a step-by-ste feed, of an auxiliary feed mechanism inelu ing a device removably hung on the carriage beneath the platen to oscillate vertically and travel with the carri e, and adapted to be detached from and p seed on the carriage when the platen is detached without the actuation of securing devices, substantially as set forth.

9. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage, of feed mechanism for the carriage including a feed-bar having side arms extendinisbeneath the platen and provided with hoo removably seated on parts of the carria e, said hooks forming pivo'tal supports for the feedbar and enabling it to be readily attached to and detached from the carriage, substantially as set forth.

10. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a movable carriage, and a stepby-step feed, of a carriage-releasing bar, and

an auxiliary carriage releasing and stop bar, said bars being arranged adjacent to each other and operating independently to release the step-by-step carriage-feed, substantially as set forth.

11. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a movable carriage, and a relatively stationary step-by-step carriage-feed, of a carriage-releasing bar, and an auxiliary carriage releasing and sto bar, said bars being mounted arallel wit each other on the carriage an operating independently to release the step-by-step carriage-feed, sub-- stantially as set forth 12. In a typewvriting machine, the combination with a movable carriage, a relatively stationary step-by-step carriage-feed, and a carriage-stop, of a carnage-releasing bar, and an auxiliary carriage releasing and stop bar, said bars being arranged parallel with each other and movable with the carriage and being also movable independently to actuate the same part of the carriage-feed to release the carriage, substantially as set forth.

13. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen-carriage, a supportin frame for the same, and a reguiar step-bystep feed, of auxiliary feed mechanism com prising a stop on said supporting-frame, a carriage releasing and stop bar located be tween the-platen and said supporting-frame parallel with the platen, and arms rigidly connected to the ends of said sto bar and pivoted to the carriage, one of sai arms extending forwardly beneath the platen-shaft for operating said stop-bar, substantially as set forth.

14. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a platen-carriage, a, supportingframe for the same, and a regular step-by-v step feed, oflauxilim'y feed mechanism comprising a.

parallel with the platen, and arms rigidly connected to the ends of said stop-bar and pivpted to the can'iage, said arms extending stepflbn said supporting-frame, a. carriage releasing a'ndstop bar located beber, 1904; tween .the platen and said supporting-frame EMMIT G. LATTA.

' Witnesses: H. Z. BLOSSOM,

CHAS. J. RICE. 

